"I'm surprised it flies" Diatone Grasshopper

By Special_Ed on Jun 07, 2017

2 236 5

My first build after wasting money (like many others) on a couple of crappy BNF quads. Due to my terrible soldering skills I went through a Naze 32 and an Omnibus F3 before getting things working with the LUX and I've been very happy with it. No FPV setup, was built strictly for LOS. A VTX03 and micro camera will easily fit though.

Overall it flies very well with both 3" and 4" props. I really like the HQ 4045 twin blades. Super smooth and very quiet. Handy if you're trying to avoid attracting any attention. Only minor issue that I've had have been with the plastic standoffs, which are constantly coming loose. Weight isn't really a concern with this so I'll be swapping them out for aluminum so I can use some Loctite on them. Since I'm still learning I didn't want to dump a ton of cash into batteries that I may annihilate straightaway and the Zippy's have worked fine. If you're in the US they are stupid cheap so long at they are in stock here. I can't say I would have bought them if they had to ship from an international warehouse.

Photos

Part List

Frame	Diatone Grasshopper 160 G160 Carbon Fiber Racing Frame Kit RC Drone w/ BEC Power Distribution Board (8 builds) Banggood.com	$20.21
Flight Controller	Lumenier LUX V2 Flight Controller (2 builds) Pirofliprc.com	$36.99
ESCs	4 x Spedix 20amp Lite BLHELI-S ESC Pirofliprc.com	$35.96
Motors	2 x DYS 1306-3100KV BX Series Set of Two CW/CCW Motors (4 builds) Hobbyking.com	$43.52
Propellers	HQ 4x4.5 PC (2CW 2CCW) Choose Color (2 builds) Pirofliprc.com	$2.99
Receiver	XM PLUS (Mini SBUS Non-telemetry Full Range) (1149 builds) Pirofliprc.com	$12.99
Batteries	ZIPPY Compact 1000mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack Hobbyking.com	$7.47
Power Distribution	Matek Mini Power HUB with BEC 5V & 12V Pirofliprc.com	$9.99

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Discussion

Don Jul 05, 2017

Like the build; I'm looking at a Grasshopper for my first build too. I'm interested in hearing prop experiences; I got some 1306s cheap, but they are 4000kv, which apparently prefer 3" props; which ones work well on this frame?

Special_Ed Jul 06, 2017

Thanks Don! For 3" I've only used twin blades. I've tried some Gemfan bullnose in different materials and hated them. Mostly because they snap if you look at them wrong. I crash this thing A LOT so durability is my main concern. For that the Diatone 3X4.5 bullnose are awesome. Definitely heavyish (2.5g) but they bend back in place supper easy and keep flying without complaint. Hope that helps a bit.

Don Jul 09, 2017

thanks for that, I was about to try some Gemfan BN, so might have dodged a bullet there! :-)

kanahmal Jun 11, 2017

Just wanted to say sorry you went through 2 FCs. I know how much it sucks to destroy something with a soldering iron, and how much more it sucks waiting for a replacement. Glad you got it worked out.

Special_Ed Jun 12, 2017

Thanks! It was definitely a frustrating start in the hobby but I knew I'd get better. Both boards actually still power up and may actually work fine. I don't see much point in trying to use the Naze but I'll definitely wire up the Omnibus to see if I can't get it working in another build.

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